Plan To Silence Death Row Prisoners
When two death row inmates sought pen pals, the parents of a woman they were con-victed of murdering were outraged. The parents, Mark and Janice Keson of Ripon, are asking for legislation to prohibit death row inmates from sending or receiving mail from anyone except family and attorneys. The Kesons argue that death row prisoners should be shut away from society, friendless, unable to communicate with others, forbidden to use pen pal services such as the website called "Penn-Pals," (www.pennpals.org), the Prison Inmates Services Network, which makes it possible for those on the inside to communicate with those outside.
Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, is aware of possible First Amendment violation if death row letters to friends and pen pals are banned, but he is looking into possible legislation to do just that.
Such legislation would serve no useful purpose except cruelty and revenge. Furthermore, it would
·render totally incommunicado those death row inmates who have neither families nor lawyers;
·deprive prisoners of access to their spiritual advisors;
·deprive prisoners without a lawyer of corresponding to obtain one;
·prevent wrongly convicted prisoners from contacting activists, organizations, journalists, etc. who might help them reopen the issue of their innocence;
·prevent prisoners from reaching the outside world to report human rights abuses by prison staff.
The vast majority of prisoners, especially on death row, are not monsters. They are human beings who wish to be a little less lonely and to have spiritual guidance before they die. Keep in mind that they are waiting for execution in a 6 X 8 cell, devoid of almost all human contact.
Fight back by writing letters to Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, 384 East Olive St. #2, Turlock, CA 95380.